Protective pad



I pt. 9, 1969 K. J. EDELSON 3.465.364

PROTECTIVE up Filed May 9, 1967 INVENTOR- JQ Hez/Y Edam nrrawevs United States Patent 3,465,364 PROTECTIVE PAD Kenneth J. Edelson, Ridgewood, N.J., assignor to General Sportcraft Company Limited, Bergenfield, N..l., a corporation of New York Filed May 9, 1967, Ser. No. 637,275 Int. Cl. A41d 13/06 US Cl. 2-22 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The protective pad is a flexible shock-absorbing member shaped to form a shin guard to be worn under a knit sock or stocking and is held in place by the interlocking of split loops carried by the pad directly with the material of any knit sock or stocking whereby special stockings having projecting closed loops to cooperate with the split loops are not required to hold the pad in position.

Heretofore shin guards such as used in soccer games have been provided with leg-encircling straps or bands to hold them in place on the leg, which bands or straps have used substantial fastening devices to releasably and adjustably secure them in required adjusted position on the leg.

The present invention eliminates the need for any leg-encircling straps and their fittings and provides a means cooperating with the material of the sock, stocking or garment, woven or knit, overlying the pad for holding it in place.

This is accomplished by providing a protective pad of flexible shock-absorbing material with a plurality of split nylon loops projecting from the outer face thereof and directly engaging and interlocking with the material of the woven or knit fabric of the garment or stocking to hold the pad in place with respect thereto. By having the split loops interlock with the material of the fabric it is possible to use the pad with any sock or stocking, preferably nylon, and it is unnecessary to provide special socks or stocking having projecting nylon loops to cooperate with the split loops on the pad. This is a substantial advantage.

While the present invention has particular utility in connection with a soccer shin guard, it may be used to position any protective pad under a woven or knit garment, such as a jersey or the like, and hold the pad in place thereunder.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE I is a front view of a shin guard.

FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a shin guard in position under a stocking or sock.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3. A

According to the present invention the protective pad comprises a member shaped to the desired configuration to provide the required protection and is to be worn under and in conjunction with a knit or woven garment. It preferably includes a flexible, shock-absorbing material, such as polyvinyl chloride sponge, a foam plastic or expanded polyethylene or similar material.

The pad of the present invention has particular utility and is illustrated as being a shin guard such as used in 3,465,364 Patented Sept. 9, 1969 the game of soccer. As shown in FIG. 1, the pad 10 comprises a member 11 of shock-absorbing material of a size and shape to extend over and partially around the shin portion of a leg 12 and to be disposed between the leg and a knit sock or stocking 13 positioned thereover as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The pad has a plurality of split loops 14 or stiff nylon filaments, such as are used in the Velcro nonmetallic separable fastener, projecting from the outer face thereof. In the preferred form of the invention the split loops are formed on an elongate strip 15 which extends for substantially the full length of the pad as shown in FIG. 1. However, the precise arrangement of the loops on the pad can be varied in accordance with the type of pad involved.

The pad is disposed over the shin portion of a leg 12, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and is covered by a knit sock or stocking 13, with the projecting loops 14 engaging and interlocking directly with the material of the stocking as shown at 16 in FIG. 4. This securely holds the pad in place over the shin without the need of straps and the like body-engaging means of the prior art.

I have discovered that, in the combination of the knit or woven garment and the protective pad as set forth in the present invention, it is not necessary to have any specially prepared garment to cooperate with the projecting split loops on the pad for this purpose and any sock, stocking or the like can be used. This is a substantial advantage.

While the present invention has been described as applied to a shin guard for the game of soccer, it is to be understood that it can be utilized to hold protective pads in other positions on the body where they are covered with a knit or woven garment, such as jerseys and the like garments.

I claim:

1. In combination with a garment of textile material, a protective pad disposed under and engaging the inner side of said garment and having a plurality of split loops of stiff nylon extending therefrom engaging the inner side of the garment and interlocking with the material of the inner side of the garment and maintaining the pad in predetermined position with respect to said garment.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the protective pad comprises a member of flexible shock-absorbing material.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein the stiff loops of nylon are formed on a strip to project therefrom with the strip being secured to the outer garmentengaging surface of the pad to extend for a substantial distance thereover.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the protective pad is a flexible member of shock-absorbing material to be bent around a leg and having a shape to form a shin guard, said member having split loops projecting from the outer surface thereof, and the garment is a knit stocking to be worn over the leg and pad with the inner surface of the knit stocking to be interlocked with the projecting split loops thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,544,065 3/1951 Carr 2-22 3,113,803 12/1963 Struble et al.

JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner 

